Present day applications of transceivers such as the Iridium 9603/9603N SBD Transceiver in, for example, tracking and locating, require the electronics enclosure to be as small as possible.
Unfortunately, the Iridium 9603/9603N SBD Transceiver is provided with a SAMTEC ST4-10-2.50L-D-P-TR user connector that sits proud of the Transceiver and requires a substantially large cable assembly for connecting to an antenna-Printed Circuit Board (PCB) assembly, thus requiring a substantial volume for accommodating the SAMTEC ST4-10-2.50L-D-P-TR user connector and the cable assembly.
Typical manufacturing processes for installing the transceiver such as the Iridium 9603/9603N SBD Transceiver into a product involves several tests of the transceiver on its own and together with in the product electronics. This involves the repetitive connecting and disconnecting of the transceiver from the product electronics. The SAMTEC ST4-10-2.50L-D-P-TR connector has proven to be fragile in such manufacturing circumstances and has broken off of the PCB at an unacceptable rate, wasting the unit in test and causing a significant time loss during the manufacturing process.
Unfortunately, the user connector's footprint and pin pattern is not standardized, making it unlikely to find two different brand user connectors with an interchangeable footprint and pin pattern.
It is desirable to provide an Iridium 9603/9603N SBD Transceiver having a user connector that is substantially smaller than the SAMTEC ST4-10-2.50L-D-P-TR user connector.
It is also desirable to provide an Iridium 9603/9603N SBD Transceiver having a user connector that is substantially more durable than the SAMTEC ST4-10-2.50L-D-P-TR user connector.
It is also desirable to provide a method for changing the SAMTEC ST4-10-2.50L-D-P-TR user connector of an Iridium 9603/9603N SBD Transceiver.
It is also desirable to provide a flexible cable assembly for connecting the Iridium 9603/9603N SBD Transceiver to a PCB that has a low profile and allows for some misalignment therebetween.